Internet billing method

• US 7,941,375 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2010
• Issued: 05/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Egendorf, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Felten; Daniel S
• Application Number:
  US12/786,431
• Publication Number:
  US 20100228645A1
• Time in Patent Office: 350 Days
• Field of Search: 705/40, 705/42, 705/44
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, establishing a billing arrangement with a purchasing customer to permit a third party to charge a billing account associated with the purchasing customer for a purchase transaction between the purchasing customer and a selling vendor, establishing a remitting arrangement with the selling vendor to permit the third party to remit to an account associated with the selling vendor a portion of the purchase transaction, establishing communications between equipment of the third party and equipment of the purchasing customer, wherein the equipment of the third party enables the equipment of the purchasing customer to communicate over the Internet with equipment of the selling vendor concerning the purchase transaction, obtaining transactional information relating to the purchase transaction, receiving authorization over the Internet to charge the purchasing customer the first amount, charging the first amount to the billing account associated with the purchasing customer in accordance with the billing arrangement, and remitting the second amount to the account associated with the selling vendor in accordance with the remitting arrangement. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. An Internet billing method for a plurality of customers and a plurality of vendors of products or services for transactions over the Internet between a purchasing customer of the plurality of customers and a selling vendor of the plurality of vendors, wherein for each purchase transaction of a product or service between the purchasing customer and the selling vendor, a first amount is charged to the purchasing customer and a second amount is remitted to the selling vendor, the method by a third party, comprising:

establishing by way of communicatively coupling equipment of the third party with equipment of the purchasing customer a billing arrangement with the purchasing customer to permit the third party to charge a billing account associated with the purchasing customer for a purchase transaction between the purchasing customer and the selling vendor;

establishing by way of communicatively coupling the equipment of the third party with equipment of the selling vendor a remitting arrangement with the selling vendor to permit the third party to remit to an account associated with the selling vendor a portion of the purchase transaction;

establishing communications between the equipment of the third party and the equipment of the purchasing customer, wherein the equipment of the third party enables the equipment of the purchasing customer to communicate over the Internet with the equipment of the selling vendor concerning the purchase transaction;

obtaining transactional information relating to the purchase transaction;

receiving authorization over the Internet to charge the purchasing customer the first amount;

charging the first amount to the billing account associated with the purchasing customer in accordance with the billing arrangement; and

remitting the second amount to the account associated with the selling vendor in accordance with the remitting arrangement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selling vendor delivers to the purchasing customer the purchased goods by mail, courier service, or by electronic transmission over the Internet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the billing account associated with the purchasing customer is managed by the third party or a party other than the third party.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transactional information comprises one of identifying information relating to the purchasing customer, an amount of the purchase transaction, or a reference number to identify the purchase transaction.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising obtaining the transactional information from one of the equipment of the purchasing customer, the equipment of selling vendor, the equipment of the third party, or equipment of a party which is neither the equipment of the purchasing customer, the equipment of the selling vendor, or the equipment of the third party.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving the authorization from one of the equipment of the purchasing customer, the equipment of the selling vendor, or equipment of a party which is neither the equipment of the purchasing customer, the equipment of the selling vendor, or the equipment of the third party.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the equipment of the purchasing customer establishes communications with the equipment of the third party by way of an Internet access network operated by a party unaffiliated with the third party, and wherein it is the equipment of the third party, not the Internet access network operated by the unaffiliated party, that enables the equipment of the purchasing customer to communicate over the Internet with the equipment of the selling vendor.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the equipment of the third party and the equipment of the purchasing customer are communicatively coupled over the Internet for establishing the billing arrangement.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the equipment of the third party and the equipment of the selling vendor are communicatively coupled over the Internet for establishing the remitting arrangement.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising charging the billing account associated with the purchasing customer the first amount by way of equipment of the third party or equipment operated by a party other than the third party.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising remitting to the account associated with the selling vendor the second amount by way of equipment of the third party, wherein the account associated with the selling vendor belongs to the selling vendor or a party other than the selling vendor.

12. An apparatus to enable Internet billing for a plurality of customers and a plurality of vendors of products or services to transact over the Internet between a purchasing customer of the plurality of customers and a selling vendor of the plurality of vendors, wherein for each purchase transaction of a product or service between the purchasing customer and the selling vendor, a first amount is charged to the purchasing customer and a second amount is remitted to the selling vendor, comprising equipment of a third party operable to:

establish a billing arrangement with a purchasing customer over a first communication session with equipment of the purchasing customer to charge a billing account associated with the purchasing customer for a purchase transaction between the purchasing customer and the selling vendor;

establish a remitting arrangement with the selling vendor over a second communication session with equipment of the selling vendor to remit to an account associated with the selling vendor a portion of the purchase transaction;

establish communications with the equipment of the purchasing customer by communicatively coupling a first communications link of the equipment of the third party to an Internet access network communicatively coupled to the equipment of the purchasing customer;

enable the equipment of the purchasing customer to communicate over the Internet with equipment of the selling vendor concerning the purchase transaction over a second communications link of the equipment of the third party;

obtain transactional information relating to the purchase transaction;

receive authorization over the Internet to charge the purchasing customer the first amount;

charge the first amount to the account associated with the purchasing customer in accordance with the billing arrangement; and

remit the second amount to the account associated with the selling vendor in accordance with the remitting arrangement.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the selling vendor delivers to the purchasing customer purchased goods by mail, courier service, or by electronic transmission over the Internet.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the billing account associated with the purchasing customer is operated by the third party or a party other than the third party.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the transactional information comprises at least one of identifying information relating to the purchasing customer, an amount of the purchase transaction, or a reference number to identify the purchase transaction.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first communication session represents a communication session over the Internet to establish the billing arrangement.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second communication session represents a communication session over the Internet to establish the remitting arrangement.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the billing account associated with the purchasing customer is managed by a party other than the third party.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the equipment of the third party is operable to remit the second amount to an account of a party other than the selling vendor.

20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the Internet access network belongs or is operated by a party other than the third party.

21. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein it is the second communications link of the equipment of the third party, not the Internet access network operated by a party unaffiliated with the third party, that enables the equipment of the purchasing customer to communicate over the Internet with the equipment of the selling vendor.

23. The storage medium of claim 21, wherein the selling vendor delivers to the purchasing customer purchased goods by mail, courier service, or by electronic transmission over the Internet.

24. The storage medium of claim 21, wherein the on-line services network belongs to or is operated by a party unaffiliated with the third party, and wherein it is the communications link of the equipment of the third party, not the on-line services network operated by the unaffiliated party, that enables the equipment of the purchasing customer to communicate over the Internet with the equipment of the selling vendor.

25. The storage medium of claim 21, comprising computer instructions to remit to the account associated with the selling vendor the second amount, wherein the account associated with the selling vendor belongs to the selling vendor or a party other than the selling vendor.

26. The storage medium of claim 21, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium operates in whole or in part in the equipment of the third party.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of a third party to enable Internet billing for a plurality of customers and a plurality of vendors of products or services to transact over the Internet between a purchasing customer of the plurality of customers and a selling vendor of the plurality of vendors, wherein for each purchase transaction of a product or service between the purchasing customer and the selling vendor, a first amount is charged to the purchasing customer and a second amount is remitted to the selling vendor, comprising computer instructions to:

establish a billing arrangement with a purchasing customer by way of equipment of the purchasing customer to charge a billing account associated with the purchasing customer for a purchase transaction between the purchasing customer and the selling vendor;

establish a remitting arrangement with the selling vendor by way of equipment of the selling vendor to remit to an account associated with the selling vendor a portion of the purchase transaction;

establish communications with the equipment of the purchasing customer by way of an on-line services network;

enable the equipment of the purchasing customer to communicate over the Internet with equipment of the selling vendor by way of a communications link of equipment of the third party to consummate the purchase transaction;

obtain transactional information relating to the purchase transaction;

verify that the purchase transaction has been approved according to the obtained transactional information;

charge the first amount to the billing account associated with the purchasing customer in accordance with the billing arrangement; and

remit the second amount to the account associated with the selling vendor in accordance with the remitting arrangement.